April 30th, 2026
70,458 people evacuated from danger to date
46 people evacuated from danger this week
24 trips into deoccupied and frontline territories this week
Stories
A Tenuous Lifeline Across the Ocean
Since 2022, the UTC US Operations team has quietly fielded a continuous trickle of direct requests for aid from Ukrainian civilians. The US volunteer handling the request makes contact with the aid requester, by phone or video call. For the Ukrainians it is often an emotional experience. If aid is approved, it usually comes in the form of a one-time package, sent through one of our Ukrainian volunteers. Afterwards, a noticeable minority of the package recipients keep in occasional touch with the volunteer who first reached out to them.
One such relationship has developed between Polyna (not her real name) and UTC volunteer N (who agreed to the publishing of this story, but also wanted to stay anonymous). When she first contacted us, Polyna lived in Sumy, a city in northeastern Ukraine, located 30 miles away from the Russian border. Sumy has been under constant, intense Russian attack since the beginning of the full scale invasion, though it has never been taken. Polyna has an elderly mother in poor health, who has refused to leave her settlement, located even closer to the Russian border, and a 20 year old son – a college student whom she sent to live in Chernivtsi, in Western Ukraine "where there is almost no war."
Polyna’s messages to N are often full of fear. "A shell just exploded two houses away. It's very scary....It's terrible. I know lots of people who've died. It's hell here." The only thing that really helps Polyna is going to the symphony, where her soul can rest, but mostly she can't afford it. It's hard to know how to respond effectively to such ongoing anguish over text messages, but writing to N obviously gives Polyna a bit of relief and getting a kind word back from across the ocean reminds her that someone cares.
Two months ago, Polyna's precarious financial situation became more dire. Over time she had accumulated a large number of medical debts, which had ballooned with accumulated interest, causing almost all her financial accounts to be frozen by the banks. Now Polyna and her mother survive on the mother’s tiny pension. As a result, Polyna had to vacate her rented apartment in Sumy and move back to her mother's house in the border settlement, where conditions are so dangerous that even mail isn't delivered.
Concerned for Polyna's safety, N tried to persuade Polyna to move out of the Sumy Region. Since she can't afford life elsewhere in Ukraine because of her debts, N suggested that Polyna and her mother contact Rubikus, an organization that helps Ukrainians evacuate to European countries that have a support system for fleeing refugees. Polyna seemed ready to take the offer, but her mother was afraid to leave everything behind and anxious about receiving healthcare in a foreign country. She decided that "come what may" she would rather stay in Ukraine. Polyna wouldn't abandon her mother, so the two of them stayed.
Lately, Polyna has been worried about social media rumors that Russians have penetrated deeper into the Sumy Region and that the city of Sumy might soon be "halfway encircled." It’s unclear how much validity these rumors have – an encirclement of Sumy in the near future seems unlikely – but N wrote back, urging Polyna to have another serious talk with her mother.
Polyna has tried to fact-check the rumors. The situation is murky, but there is agreement among the military members to whom Polyna has spoken, that it’s best for her and her mother to evacuate. And so we wait for developments, worried, but hoping for the best for Polyna and her family. Hers is just one more of the numerous such dramas unfolding daily in front-line Ukraine. For some of us it is just a little more immediate.
Gratitude from Aid Recipients
We continue to share letters of gratitude passed to us by our volunteers. This letter came to us from a village near Kryvyi Rih:
I am Serdyuk H.I. I am already a person of respectable age, living in retirement in my small but beloved home. I have worked my whole life and am accustomed to hard work, so even now I do not sit idle.
I have my own household — chickens and a vegetable garden. I have quite a bit of land for one person, but what can you do — it is mine, dear to me, earned over the years. So I tend to do it all by myself. As long as I still have the strength, as long as my hands obey me — I try to plant, to hoe, to care for it all. Because the land loves hard work and rewards it in return.
I will be honest — it is not always easy. Age makes itself known, but I do not give up. Every day I find within myself the strength to go out to the garden, to do something, to plant something. Because this is not only about food — it is about life.
And how wonderful it is that there are people who offer support in moments like these. From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank the foundation and the sponsors for their kindness and care. They provided me with free seeds — and this is a great help to me. You feel it with your heart.
Thank you for your work, for your compassion, for helping people like me. May all the good that you do come back to you a hundredfold.
Team Summaries
Alina’s Team – Dobra sprava (Good Deeds)
Completed 10 trips evacuating 49 people.
Inna’s Team – Krok z nadiyeyu (Step with Hope)
20.6 tons of aid distributed.
8300 people received aid.
2400 people received bread.
Aid reached 33 locations including 10 high-risk locations.
Delivered aid to Ihren’ Psychiatric ward in Dnirpo.
Inna’s mobile team set up stations at bombing sites in Dnipro.
Kherson's team disinfected and performed exterminations in 5 buildings, including 2 large basements.
Delivered bread to 47 families, and refueled generators for people living in Kherson red zones.
Delivered bread to Kramatorsk traumatological ward.
Oleksandr D’s Volunteer Networks
Oleksandr S. (Ukrainka): delivered 20 tons of aid to Konotop, Sumy Region. Distributed rice in Hoholiv, Kyiv Region and Budyshche, Chernihiv Region. Donated hygiene products to a hospital near the border in the Chernihiv Region. Prepared 60 food kits for internally displaced people in the Kyiv Region. Held a social project for children in Boyarka.
Vladyslav K. (Mykolaiv): delivered 35 tons of drinking water to Mykolaiv.
Sandra S. (Odesa): the kitchen prepared and distributed over 1,000 portions of food.
Vitaliy Z. (Kharkiv): delivered 3.5 tons humanitarian kits, clothes, medicine, and animal feed to Kramatorsk. Delivered almost 500 loaves of “Victory” bread to the village of Stepne, Kramatorsk District. Evacuated a man from Malotaranivka, and a woman from Krasnotorka, both in Kramatorsk District. The woman’s mother stayed behind. Fed homeless animals in Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.
Yuri P. (Boryslav): delivered a total of 6 tons of baby food, dishwashing detergent, and instant food to Kremenets’, Ostroh, Buzivka, Ta’lne, Blahodatne, Tsybli, and Pereiaslav.
Hryhoriy M. (Tal’ne): held crafts master classes, singing, and psychological support events, followed by dessert, for 115 children and their parents. Children included those from large families, orphans, and children of fallen military members. Transportation was provided for children from the surrounding villages and towns, who couldn’t get to the event on their own. 21 children from Tal’ne, who lost their fathers at the front, as well as those whose parents are currently defending Ukraine, attended a rest,recovery, and rehabilitation program at You Camp camp in Bukovina, Chernivtsi Region. The children worked with psychologists and chaplains, and took part in various master classes, such as baking, pottery, and art therapy.
Yuri S. (Vinnytsia): brought food to 8 people at the Safe Space overnight shelter for the homeless and to 10 people at a drug and alcohol recovery center.
Artiom S. (Hostomel’): evacuated belongings for a family of 4 from the village of Semenivka, near Sloviansk. The family followed in their own vehicle.
Oleksandr D. (Lutsk): provided a wheelchair for a disabled veteran at the hospital.
Oleksandr Z. (Lutsk): provided therapeutic interventions and aid to internally displaced people (IDPs), children and adults with disabilities, orphans, elderly people, military service members, and amputees in Lutsk, Ostrozhets', and other regional centers. 1020 children and adults received help, including therapy, music therapy, zootherapy, sports activities, a visit to the theater, help with bread and other food, meals served at a social cafe, help with glasses, dental, medical, and preventive procedures, and help with the manufacture of wheelchairs for children and prostheses and rehabilitation for adults.
Darya’s Team
Darya managed to evacuate 26 people over the last 3 weeks making 10 trips to the most dangerous villages near Kupyansk.
While on these trips, Darya’s team delivered 382 packages to the people staying there.
Trips went into the villages of Rohozyank,Sadovod, Vodyane, Stetskivka Prylyutove, Shypuvate, Prosyanka, Kurochkyne, Yehorivka, Smorodkivka.
Karina’s Team – My ryatuyemo Ukrayinu (We Save Ukraine)
91 people in the shelter.
Tetiana’s Team – Dopomoha poruch (Help Is Near)
Delivered 150 aid packages to the village of Bogatyryovka, Zaporizhzhya region.
Distributed 120 aid packages to recently internally displaced refugees in Smila.
Timur’s Team – Komanda Teymura Alyeva (Timur Alyev’s Team)
The team delivered 297 aid packages to seniors in Saltivka Kharkiv.
Special deliveries to 43 disabled elderly and 18 families with infants.
Next week they are planning to deliver aid to recent refugees that were evacuated from Eastern Ukraine.
Pavel and Olena’s Teams – Dotyk sertsya (Touch of Heart) & Svitanok mriy (Dawn of Dreams)
218 families received aid in the villages of Novohryhorivka, Novopavlivska, Partyzanske.
Distributed seeds for the planting season.
Pomahaem Foundation (We Help Foundation)
The team resumed vetting recipients for GFFO grant.
629 people in 208 households vetted.
Trips concentrated in Kamyanske, although one trip went to high-risk Nikopol region.
85 people arrived at Voloske transit center.
Marina’s Team – Daruy dobro Ukrayina (Give Good Ukraine)
150 packages were distributed to internally displaced people in Pyatikhatki community.
Dina’s Team – Vilʹni lyudy, vilʹna krayina (Free People, Free Country)
Distributed 315 packages in Kanev, Kremenchuk, Poltava, Dnipro.
Served 1,050 meals in Kharkiv soup kitchen.
Delivered 250 packages of aid to Nova Vodolaha.
Bohdan’s Team — Vse robymo sami (We Do Everything Ourselves)
Food and hygiene kits were distributed to 42 families in Zhytomyr.
At the club for children with disabilities, kids had fine art classes and culinary classes.
Alena’s Team – Diva (Virgo)
Traveled to deliver food and toys to 240 children in Kotlyareve, Shevchenkove, and Novorus’ke towns in the Mykolaiv area.
Distributed bread to 347 families in Odesa.
How to Help
Donate — The money goes directly to teams providing aid on the ground, who respond dynamically to the most urgent needs.
Fundraise — Organize fundraisers at your school, work, place of worship, with friends and family, etc.
Spread the word — Share our website, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, or Bluesky Social with your friends, family, and colleagues.
Fill out this form if you’re interested in volunteering with us, and we’ll let you know when opportunities come up.
Download and print our flyer. Ask your local coffee shop if you can add it to the bulletin, or use it as part of your fundraiser.
